Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Which Pm's partner first in a war zone? UPDATE

This followed some conflicting history from the ABC and the National Archives Prime Ministers page. The later suggested Dame Pattie Menzies was worthy of the title. After some questions and suggestions National Archives now advise the following:

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We've had advice from the Museum of Australian Democracy, and have changed the text on Robert Menzies' "In office" page to reflect that advice.

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The conflicting history has been removed and the text now reads....

While in Britain, Robert Menzies experienced first-hand the devastation caused by German air raids. He was deeply moved by what he saw and visited a number of provincial British cities and war factories to help boost morale. But Menzies was unable to achieve an increased commitment from Britain for Singapore's defence. With the blitz still in progress and the threat of German invasion not yet passed, Churchill promised only to keep Australia's concerns in mind.

Rather than...

While in Britain, Robert and Pattie Menzies both experienced first-hand the devastation caused by German air raids. They were deeply moved by what they saw and visited a number of provincial British cities and war factories to help boost morale. But Menzies was unable to achieve an increased commitment from Britain for Singapore’s defence. With the blitz still in progress and the threat of German invasion not yet passed, Churchill promised only to keep Australia’s concerns in mind.

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